


Your Cat is a Menace

by cheshireree (shyfoxes)



Category: Free!
Genre: Alternate Universe, Awkward Matsuoka Rin, Cats, Crushes, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-20
Updated: 2016-04-20
Packaged: 2018-06-03 09:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,088
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6605377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shyfoxes/pseuds/cheshireree
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“Your cat got mine pregnant take responsibility dammit AU” </p><p>Makoto’s cat is a little too busy, and Rin demands retribution, but ends up with much more. </p><p>for rinchansanmatsuoka HBD!</p>
            </blockquote>





	Your Cat is a Menace

**Author's Note:**

  * For [RinChanSanMatsuoka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/RinChanSanMatsuoka/gifts).



Rin clicked his tongue twice, peeking his head out of his apartment kitchen window as he beckoned his cat to him. Sakura had wandered into his life a year ago, petite and in need of a good bath and meal. It took a couple months of buttering her up, but Rin had succeeded in winning her trust with scattered bowls of food and feathered toys tied to his clothesline after she'd nearly shredded his good pair of pants simply to play with a piece of the thread hanging off of it. The harder part was bathing her, which had ended in a mild lose for Rin, but an ultimate win for the both of them.  Under all that grime and dirt was a cream coat and patches of soft brown on her nose and paws. A little tip-toeing after that meant that Sakura had permanently come to call Rin's little flat, lounging in the window of his kitchen, and greeting him at the door when he returned home.

Only, Sakura was strangely nowhere to be seen.

Rin hadn't worried much. She was free to come and go as she pleased (she had a tag and collar now after all), but usually she was rather good at showing up for dinner when Rin came home. She _never_ missed dinner.

Rin beckoned again, calling her name softly in hopes that maybe she was just being stubborn and lazing out in a dying patch of sun. Rin frowned and craned his neck outside the window. A flash of fluffy black fur caught Rin's eye first. There on the fence separating the small compound of apartments from the main street was a black cat Rin hadn't seen before. Next to said cat was Sakura, demurely licking her paw as the black cat seemed to be saying something to her.

Rin furrowed his brows, calling for Sakura again. She looked at him, glanced at the other cat, before taking off across the fence to bound into Rin's arms and into the apartment. Rin eyed the black cat again as it peered lazily at him before shutting its eyes and napping where Sakura had left him. Rin huffed and scratched the back of Sakura's ear. She purred against him as Rin fetched her food and plopped her down to eat it. He patted her back affectionately.

“Looks like you made a friend, Sakura,” Rin remarked. “Should I be jealous? You're usually so solitary.”

Sakura didn't deign him an answer. She merely licked her chops before digging in again. Rin chuckled, stretching. His hours had changed again, unfortunately. He and Sakura would be eating later than usual. It had been lonely up until he had found Sakura. With his sister and his childhood friend back home and him here in Tokyo, working and taking a semester off to pay for school, he hadn't really made any friends. But it was okay if he had Sakura. He nudged her with his toes.

“Oi, don't make such a mess on the floor, Sakura. It's me who has to clean it up,” He reprimanded.

Sakura's only answer was to wash her face instead.

-

Rin dragged himself in, exhausted and achy all over, having stood up on his feet too long, and having had to smile at shitty people for the better part of the day too much. All he wanted was a sandwich and to go straight into bed. He rubbed at his eye and heard muffled wailing. Rin glanced up to see someone hurrying up the stairs to the previously unoccupied apartment. He had heard the landlady gossiping that she'd found a new tenant, but truthfully, Rin had been working overtime all week and couldn't bring himself to care much.

He heard what sounded like a body thudding to the floor, probably a bad trip from the creaky stair at the top of the staircase that the landlady always forgot to fix and everyone eventually learned to just hop over. Rin shook his head and shouldered his way into his apartment, fully ready to face plant into his bed.

He didn't notice the black cat racing up the stairs after the new tenant.

-

It seemed that whenever Rin was looking for Sakura in her usual haunts outside, that black cat was there, too. Sakura for the most part let the cat in her vicinity but hissed when he dared to overstep his boundaries. He was allowed to be in her presence but to share her breathing space was off-limits. Rin had to laugh when he saw it. There was Sakura, his demure, wonderful Sakura, lounging on the small back veranda his apartment had, and the black cat exiled to a far, uncomfortable corner. Sometimes he called to Sakura, and she might glance over, but other times she simply ignored him.

Rin shot the cat a childish, triumphant look. He was playing a losing game, if Rin could say so himself.

Rin snorted in finality, content that he could leave Sakura to her own devices so that he could look over the course selection for his next semester in university. He'd missed out taking this semester off, but he was pretty good with maths, so he had little to worry about if he went ahead to the next level. It was the required literature that was getting him down.

Rin sighed and set in to devote his time to trying to calculate a good time table for classes and work hours before he'd start dinner and call Sakura in.

-

Sakura wasn't looking so good. She wasn't as lively as she usually was. She was as lazy as they came, but she was even more so now. Even worse, it seemed she wasn't keeping her food down. He had already cleaned up the remains of that morning's food up when he saw her retching out in the yard a little too close to the landlady's garden. He had worried that maybe she'd eaten something horrible when he wasn't looking. But for the most part, she seemed fine despite it. She was a bit more irritable than usual, though. Rin didn't dare get on her bad side for too long while she was in a mood.

The black cat that had been so enamored with Sakura was suspiciously missing lately. Perhaps he had sensed the changed mood in her and had wisely taken to annoying some other cats. He finally found his answer when he saw the black cat's ears perk up from his upstairs neighbor's wailing, something muffled Rin couldn't make out but could understand as the universal sound of university student suffering. The cat hopped up the steps towards them. That probably explained the cat's sudden appearance – he was the new tenant's cat. Rin dismissed it in the face of Sakura's strange behavior.

Two weeks later, she was a bit more obliging. At least she was back to sleeping in Rin's lap now and then. Rin stroked her sides, happy that she was at least keeping her food down better now.  She had gained a good deal of weight, actually. Rin was relieved. He scratched under her chin before returning an affection rub at her side. He brushed at her underbelly and froze.

Something firm and protruding was there.  He shifted her, ignoring the indignant _mrow_ she gave. Rin's brows nearly hit his hairline. He knew she had nipples, but he never remember them so – obvious. Sakura swatted at his hand and settled directly on it in retribution.

“What's going on with you, huh?” Rin muttered. “You're so weird, lately.”

Sakura only flickered her tail.

-

A couple weeks later, Rin finally figured out what was wrong with Sakura. She had become so particularly affectionate lately that there was no way Rin wasn't going to notice how much her body was changing. There was no mistaking the “sudden weight” she'd put on now. But why not be sure? A quick trip to the vet had confirmed his suspicions – pregnant. Her nipples had become that much more apparent and there was no mistaking just what that growing belly on Sakura was signifying.

Rin stared at his cat in horror, all lines coming to intersect in his mind at breakneck speed. The new cat, Sakura' strange behavior, Sakura _pregnant._ Rin clenched his fist, teeth grinding viciously as his eyes flew up to where his supposed new neighbor was bumbling around. Rin strained his ears, hearing a familiar throaty meow and knew he needed to start breaking necks. He was going to strangle both man and cat _make_ them pay for corrupting Sakura's virtue the way they had. Hadn't the man known better than to let that damn cat out wandering like he had?? Hadn't he known there were sweet girls like Sakura minding her own business before this damn tom came and had too much fun with her? Rin was furious. He gently cradled Sakura to him and stormed out the door. He took the stairs two at a time, completely flying past the top, rickety step and stomping his way to the new neighbor's door.

The name on the door read Tachibana. Rin's teeth ground harder. Finally, a name to a culprit. Rin shifted Sakura who mewled lightly as Rin pounded a fist against the door.

“Tachibana!” Rin seethed. “Tachibana, you come out here! I have a bone to pick with you!”

Tachibana's startled squeal met him on the other end of the door. He seemed to trip over something, one of which must have been his cat, as he bounded for the door. Rin tapped his foot impatiently. He bared his teeth and clenched his fist at his side, fully ready to give Tachibana a piece of his mind. Tachibana fiddled with the door a little too long for Rin's liking as he angrily egged him to open it already. The door flew open and all Rin could see was the wide expanse of a chest.

The wide expanse of a very _well-toned_ chest. Rin had to crane his neck just to meet Tachibana's eyes, traveling up a nice, thick neck, to a strong jaw, and dopey green eyes under a mop of sleep-tousled brown hair. All color fled Rin's face as he blinked up at Tachibana and only had one thought _'Shit, he's hot'_.

“You must be Matsuoka from down below,” Tachibana said, sheepishly. “I've been meaning to greet you and the others, but I've been so swamped with schoolwork you see.”

“I see,” Rin mumbled, stupidly. He could only blink.

“M-My exams are soon, and science isn't actually my forte. I've been skyping with a friend and, wow, I haven't really been sleeping, and uhm, I kind of burned my dinner the other day -”

It wasn't until the black cat came pushing his head out the door to meow at Sakura that Rin remembered why he had come. He looked down at the cat and then at Sakura, belly filled with little ones, and became pissed all over again. Rin's eyes flew up to Tachibana's again, effectively cutting him mid-sentence as he nearly stumbled back. Rin viciously pointed at his cat.

“Your cat,” Rin started, peeved. “Got mine pregnant. And I'm going to need _the two_ of you to take responsibility!”

Tachibana's jaw dropped, eyes flying to Sakura, finally noticing her. His face went white and then a hot flash of color rose to his cheeks. He looked down at his cat and nearly bit his tongue calling at it.

“Fluffy Bottom! What have you done!” He cried.

“Fluffy Bottom?” Rin repeated in a mutter to himself.

Tachibana shooed his cat into the house, calling “bad cat, bad cat” after him as the cat only mewled unhappily at Tachibana's name calling and went to hide in a make shift box-house somewhere inside. Sakura struggled in Rin's arms, wanting to enter too. Rin kept his firm hold. Tachibana turned back to him, looking fifty shades of ashamed.

“I'm so sorry,” He said, mouth dry. “I really am. I didn't think he would have done that! I – I should have, though. I'm, uhm, studying to be a vet.”

It was Rin's jaw that dropped now. But nothing could come out. Tachibana cut in before Rin could think up something a little too mean to say that he wasn't too sure wouldn't morph into some stupid remark on how good-looking Tachibana was the way his thoughts were crashing together.

“Since its my fault for not watching him, I'll definitely assist in your cat's time of need,” Tachibana offered. “I'll babysit and watch her diet and I'll definitely assist in the birthing! A-And if you need help finding the little ones homes, I'll do that, too!”

He looked so genuinely remorseful that all the fight bled straight out of Rin. His shoulders sagged. He sighed and figured he'd pet Sakura instead. He glanced up at Tachibana through his bangs, watching him biting his lip in a damn cute way, flush still in place, and such shame that Rin had to take pity on him.

“Fine,” Rin said. “I accept your offer.”

The smile Tachibana gave him was just as worse as his pouting. Rin had never felt so caught off-guard and victimized in all his life. There was no way someone could be so utterly attractive.

-

Tachibana's given name was Makoto, and he had joked that he and Rin could make quite the duo with their girly names. Rin's only response was a childhood habit of “I'm definitely a man, thank you!” before he could stop himself. Makoto had burst out laughing right away. It was a sound that made Rin's body heat up in all the right ways. More often than not, he was now rubbing his hands on his jeans to get rid of the sweat collecting on his palms. Whether he was smiling or laughing or just sitting there, Rin was caught with this terrible block in his throat and thump in his heart.

The more time that passed until Sakura's due date, the more Rin was spending time with Makoto, whether intentional or not. It had started with Rin leaving Sakura at Makoto's, since when Rin was home, Makoto was not, and vice versa. (He took special pleasure in the way Sakura was so intolerant of Fluffy Bottom now). It started with Makoto filling Rin in on Sakura's daily activities and her antics. The way he spoke so fondly of her was what struck Rin first. At some point Makoto was even sending Rin pictures of Sakura to get him through his long shifts at wok.

It extended to them trading dinner (or more so Rin because Makoto couldn't cook for shit). Then to them sharing dinner together in the apartment Sakura was currently laid up in for the day. They sat opposite each other at whoever's table, close enough that their feet brushed under it, laughing around mouthfuls of food.

Not too long after The Incident, Fluffy Bottom had been neutered. As if sensing Rin's hand in it, Fluffy Bottom never stayed in the same room as Rin much less gave him a lick of attention. Rin almost felt a little bad. After all, if it hadn't been for the cat, he wouldn't have met Makoto.

It only became worse when Rin offered to tutor Makoto in math the more he lamented to Rin how he was worrying over his coming exams. They had worked side by side, the bulk of Makoto's arms encased in an unfortunate baggy shirt that still didn't do much to hide the bicep that laid underneath. Every so often their arms or hands brushed and Rin had to will himself to stay calm. Even in those baggy sweats of his, Rin could see he had thighs that made his mouth water. Rin's eye caught it all. The killing blow was when Makoto had turned to him, thick-rimmed glasses seated on the bridge of his nose and a determined look in his eyes. Rin just wanted to die.

Makoto was a forth-coming student anyway; eager to learn, eager to please, and quick on the draw. He repeated the instructions quietly to himself in confirmation before carrying it out with precision. He only hiccuped once or twice but otherwise made Rin proud.

“You catch on quick,” Rin praised, only just holding off the urge to pat him on the arm.

Makoto grinned, folding those god-forsaken glasses up to place in his breast pocket. He fixed Rin with a warm look as a tiny dimple appeared at the corner of his cheek.

“That's because I've had a really good teacher,” Makoto said.

Rin flushed and coughed into his fist. “I'm an all right teacher. It helps that you pay attention so well.”

“No, I mean it Rin. If you ever wanted to be a teacher, you could. You really have a way of making people pay attention to you, and explaining things. You're really amazing.”

Rin was no stranger to compliments but coming from Makoto, it made him want to crawl away and melt into a puddle. Rin rubbed at his nose and muttered under his breath.

You're the amazing one, aren't you? Being a vet's not an easy route, right? That's how I see it anyway,” Rin admitted.

Makoto laughed, a gentle sound that make Rin's chest warm. Rin dared a look at Makoto. Makoto hid nothing in his expression.

“Well, if its coming from you, I guess I can accept defeat this time,” Makoto said.

-

Sakura was becoming increasingly irritable and restless. She wouldn't sit still for any amount of time. Rin could hear her padding around the apartment, meowing at nothing and scratching at things here and there. Sometimes she would roost in his closet or make a nest out of a jacket he left hanging on the couch, too tired from work to hang it up. When Rin had told Makoto, he had hummed at first and told him it was time to start preparing a nest for Sakura to set up in for her kittens.

Some shredded paper and old sheets were bundled into a cozy little box courtesy of Makoto in a quiet corner of the apartment not a day later. Sakura had seemed happy enough with the development and spent her days there, arranging and rearranging it as she set up camp.

“She'll be due any day now, I think,” Makoto said. “We just have to be ready. It should go okay. She has you and you have me.”

Rin didn't want to tell him that he wished he he had meant it in a different way. A more romantic way. But he didn't dare voice his opinion. Rin nodded instead.

“Yeah. I'm just nervous for her,” Rin said. “First litter. Hopefully, her _last_ litter, too.”

Makoto laughed lightly; “We know it is for Fluffy Bottom.”

Rin elbowed Makoto in the side then. “I have to ask. Why is he named Fluffy Bottom anyway?”

Makoto blushed, a hand coming to the back of his neck as Rin's smile grew teasing. Makoto swatted at him, hoping to stave off Rin's incoming teasing. Rin poked at him, trying to force out the answer. He'd recently come to learn all of Makoto's ticklish points. Makoto weakly batted at Rin's hands.

“My little sister accidentally got gum in his hair the first few days I had him when I was still living at home. I shaved most of him except the back part. He's really fluffy so, ah,” Makoto said, finishing awkwardly.

Rin erupted in a fit of laughted, hanging onto Makoto's forearm for dear life as tears gathered in his eyes. He shook his head, his forehead brushing against Makoto's abdomen. He sobered enough to blink up at Makoto.

“You have to be the silliest person I've ever met, honestly,” Rin said, between giggles.

Makoto's hand hovered before falling back away from Rin. If he didn't know better he might have imagined Makoto was going to touch his cheek. Rin willed away the thought. Makoto shrugged instead.

“It seemed kind of cute at the time,” He admitted.

Rin beamed, straightening himself. “Well. It's not all that's shaved now, huh?”

“Rin!” Makoto said, pushing him lightly. Rin only laughed harder.

-

Sakura's labor drove Rin on edge. She was so restless and upset that it extended to Rin, too. She'd cry out every so often, wanting to get up and pace but ultimately too fed up to. She licked at herself and cried again. Rin hushed her kindly.

“It'll be okay, girl,” He cooed. “It'll be okay. I'm here and Makoto is here.”

Makoto nodded next to him, kneeling next to Rin as he exhaled loudly. He had a pair of gloves in his pocket and some towels and what looked like a dropper that Makoto said was to help clear their airways. Hours seemed to pass, and they probably had before Sakura's first yowl jolted Rin.

Rin craned his neck as Makoto got up and walked around him, hovering by Sakura. The first head pushed its way out and Rin held his breath. Makoto murmured soothingly to Sakura, gently taking the first little one as it successfully passed through, toweling it off gently but efficiently. It cried out, rousing Sakura. Makoto did a quick look over before he gently placed the baby down for Sakura to chew at the umbilical cord and begin licking its little face all over. The baby cried again.

Rin sniffled, tears collecting in his eyes as he watched the tiny thing's little limbs twitch as Sakura ran her rough tongue on the top of its head. The second baby was already coming and Rin was very much on his way to wailing. Makoto smiled kindly but didn't comment. Two more babies later and Makoto had told Rin reach into his breast pocket to take the handkerchief he had stored there especially for Rin.

Rin would have felt moved if he wasn't so busy cooing over Sakura. A fifth baby was making its way out before anything could said and done. Makoto was efficient as he'd been before, rousing the little one who had taken a bit too long to cry with a few gentle swipes of his fingers. It wailed before Sakura was reaching to take it from Makoto. A sixth and final kitten came a few minutes later, the runt, much smaller than her siblings, but probably the loudest of the bunch.

Rin sobbed around a smile, reaching out to stroke Sakura's head as he congratulated her. Makoto worked in the back, disposing of the afterbirth and tidying up the nest as Rin cooed over the babies. When he had disposed of his gloves and sanitized his hands he came to sit flush against Rin's side. They sat with their knees to their chests in front of Sakura's box, watching the mother and kittens finally able to dose. Sakura winked one eye before finally lying down for a victory doze.

“I guess we're grandparents now, Rin,” Makoto murmured. “Congratulations.”

Rin smiled, looking down at where their hands could be touching if one of them shifted a bit. He looked back up at Makoto, beaming smile still on his face.

“Congrats to you, too. Besides Sakura, you did some hard work,” Rin said.

Makoto laughed, a little self-deprecating. “Well, if not for my cat we wouldn't be here, would we?”

Rin dared to close the gap. Makoto didn't pull back, only curled his fingers a little more. It gave Rin a trill of courage as he tilted his head to regard Makoto some more. Makoto looked almost teasing as he looked back at him.

“We wouldn't,” Rin admitted. “I guess I'll have to thank the little brat.”

“Careful, Rin,” Makoto joked. “He's still my baby.”

“And me?” Rin said, meaning to play it off as a joke. Makoto's brow shot up, though, a light flush on his cheeks. But he didn't reply right away. Rin was about to take it back when Makoto began to speak again.

“My boyfriend, if I could be so lucky,” Makoto said.

A fresh batch of tears were making its way to Rin's eyes. He tackled Makoto to the floor in a hug that startled Sakura before she was sleeping again. Rin kissed all over Makoto's face, laughing around each kiss and enjoying the slow, happy smile rising on Makoto's face.

“It's me that's lucky,” Rin said. “But yes. Yes, yes, yes, yes!”

Makoto curled his hand around the back of Rin's head and pulled him down for a proper kiss.

**Author's Note:**

> original here--->>http://cheshire-ree.tumblr.com/post/143099283593/your-cat-is-a-menace
> 
> Late? Birthday present for Rinchansan. I was tempted to make the cats named after other Free! Characters but maybe it would have been a bit mean if one of them ended up neutered for the sake of Rin's swooning. I had to look into cats a bit b/c im not actually a cat person (I love them from a far b/c they upset my allergies so much, so i'm much more of a dog person). Sakura is a balinese. Fluffy Bottom is a black Ragamuffin. My understanding of cats goes as far as “try to remember not to treat them like dogs”.
> 
> Fluffy Bottom was named by Rinchansan.
> 
> my first time writing makorin too whooo


End file.
